Persuasive Prompt #1
American essayist and social critic H. L. Mencken (1880–1956)
wrote, “The average man does not want to be free. He simply wants to be safe.”
In a well-written essay, examine the extent to which Mencken’s observation
applies to contemporary society, supporting your position with appropriate
evidence.
The average man:
somebody who works 9 to 5 in an office, earning a consistent wage; has a wife,
a couple kids, and possibly a dog. His life is predictable and safe because,
according to H. L. Mencken, he prefers that to taking a risk to become free. Excluding
the very few outliers, most people would choose to lively risk-free and safely,
because the potential consequences of pursuing freedom are devastating.
The notion of “playing it safe” is apparent in
education, with many parents and teachers urging students to pursue engineering,
medicine, or business – traditional jobs with consistent paychecks. Of course,
there are people who advocate for students to study what they love, whether
that be art, philosophy, or Latin, and break free of the confines of societal
expectations. Yet there’s a reason that the “starving artist” stereotype, describing
an art school graduate who has no means to pay back the fortune he paid for
school, exists – it’s holds true more often than not. Many artists, whether due
to societal pressures or internal insecurities, choose to avoid that potential
outcome and pursue an uninspiring, yet safe, education.
The same concept exists
in the world of entrepreneurship – the potential earnings are high, but so are
the risks. Everybody knows about the successful entrepreneurs – for example, Mark
Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, creators of Facebook, Apple, and Microsoft,
respectively, who are earning more than the average man could ever imagine –
but for every successful startup, there are many more unsuccessful ones. Most
people just don’t dare to venture into the uncertainties of entrepreneurship
and startups, so much so that the United States government sometimes offers
subsidies as an incentive to prompt more people to take the risk.
This tendency to shy
away from risks is not limited to just Americans, however, as it’s a natural
human tendency, and thus occurs worldwide. One contemporary example is China, a
communist state with censored Internet and limited rights. Many Westerners
question why Chinese citizens haven’t already rebelled against the government
in pursuit of more freedoms, but they don’t realize that most of these citizens
already live in relative comfort. They already feel safe, and so they don’t
mind the lack of a few basic rights.
In terms of economic
principles, risks shouldn’t be taken unless the benefits outnumber the costs.
When making decisions, humans intuitively put that concept into action. When
pursuing freedom, the costs and benefits are unclear, so people are unable to
make a decision, for fear of suffering the consequences.
I really like your detailed analysis on the quote. The example on communist China reminded me of North Korea. A man was asked how he felt about his homeland and he responded saying that he felt safe from the outside influences. On the other hand, pursuing freedom has it's benefits too. It lets the man see further than what he is limited himself to due to the safety and can potentially learn more of himself. In terms of economics, I agree that most people would not be happy if their stocks went down or if their business failed but hey, you win big and lose big....I think said the wrong saying but you get my drift right? ;)
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